Talk:Mokèlé-mbèmbé/@comment-33430785-20190727050231/@comment-38568978-20191229060915
"Sauropods dwelling in waters are highly outdated and unauthentic." Convergent evolution can allow an animal like a sauropod to change according to environment, think of them as the hippos of the Congo River Basin(hence why locals say Mokele scared off the hippos from the area). "Herbivorous dinosaurs were proven not to live in and prefer food inclusively from swamps". Again, you are referring to the extinct species we know from the fossil records, not an evolved descendant of them. And no, judging by how the locals say it behaves and lives, what your saying is nonsese. Firstly, Mokele-Mbembe is said to grow to 75 feet, however, they no longer get that large, a similar thing occurs in fish like the Beluga and Kaluga sturgeon, both are massive, yet nowadays due to changing conditions brought by humans, the fish no longer get that large and are elusive. Mokele-Mbembe shares a niche similar to hippos and other semi-aquatic mammals, however, it is a reptile, a sauropod that is much more different from what we are used to seeing in the fossil records. Mokele has colors similar to certain reptiles and mammals living alongside it in the Congo Basin, it behaves like a cross between a hippo and monitor lizard. The Jago Nini is said to be similar, but smaller, these could be a subspecies or possible juvenile specimens that are more successful than their adult counterparts. Mokele-Mbembe is said to reach food that not even elephants can reach, think of it as the Congo River Basin's equivalent of a giraffe. Giraffes aren't suited for the Congo River Basin, there's too many trees and vines that can make them get stuck by their horns and necks. However, Mokele-Mbembe is said to rear its head and neck straight up(like Brachiosaurus) and even horizontal(similar to Apatosaurus and Nigersaurus) however, the neck is said to resemble a tortoises in texture and function. You see, some tortoises by their necks flexibility can resemble a cross between a sauropod that is built to reach the highest plants and sauropods that reach to the lowest plant sources. Mokele-Mbembe does this, it can reach for plant material that are hanging over the riverbanks out of reach of the elephants and even lower their necks and heads to reach over for plant materials that are tok far for most herbivorous animals(convergent evolution to develope the neck with similar functions to a giant toritoises. Mokele is said to have forelimbs similar to a hippo, the forelimbs helps it to cling onto the slippery riverbanks and even help it to climb obstacles hippos can't as the hindlegs resemble those of a forest elephant. Now, this can indicate that Mokele can rear up on its hindlegs to reach higher up, this can make the animals appear much larger and furtherly make the locals even overestimate the size and height. The hindlegs help with balance and to enable its huge body to move through the thick vegetation of its rainforest habitat. Mokele-Mbembe to me, has a tail similar to a monitor lizards. It can stiffen its tail to intimidate or even for self-defense, or even drag it as it is near the rivers and for swimming. Mokele is said to have a crest and a head similar to a lizard, this can that the animals have the head similar to an iguana and the crest isn't actually a crest but spikes similar to an iguana. The animal is said to have a frill, this ain't true, but it does have a flab of skin similar to an iguana which males use to attract females and the males even have an air sac used like some species of frogs to call out for females. The males are larger and more menacing than the females, males have thagomizers or spikes on their tails used for rivaling for mates and even to defend their mates and offsprings. Males have scales similar to the osteoderms from crocodilians for armor and this can accoubt for remotes of them making caverns or rubbing against the riverbanks making caves. The animals aren't fully aggressive as the locals say, they're only aggressive when they have young, when it's mating season and whenever the males are full of testosterone like bull elephants. The animals are rather intelligent for a reptile and this enabled them to survive the KT Extinction, as their descendants died off into the fossil records. The reason why we've not found dinosaur fossils dating after the KT Event, is because the animals exclusively lived in areas that don't support fossilization and thus why we've never found their fossils dating after the event that killed their descendants. The animals can be mistaken for an elephant or even part of a riverbank like some reptiles we know. The animals are very adaptable, but due to human activity and even probably global warming, they are dying out for a second time. Yeah sure, I may not have evidence to back up my claim, but that doesn't mean I am incorrect, without anyone even bothering to look for them, they're just gonna be listed as pure fantasy. Until the 90s, the Saola was just a myth and when one was found in 97, it amazed the world that an animal 5 feet tall and 200 pounds was hidden in a severely fragmented area. There's said to probably be from 0 to 50 of them, due to their fragmented range, and their may be less. Mokele is going through the same, the animals aren't stupid and know their environments and so avoid areas that are dangerous to them. The animals stay away from humans and live in the most remote areas. The average Mokele is(to me) from 12-30 feet, large enough to stay hidden, but who knows, there may be a pair of 75 foot individuals that are still mating for life and are keeping their species alive on a knife's edge. It is like what Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcom said in Jurassic Park, "life uh.... finds a way". Don't listen to creationists, evolution is real and enabled us and other living species to still live on, the same may go for Living Dinos like Mokele-Mbembe and Burrunjor.